Haven’t we all practiced it at one time in our lives, making that last-second jumper, fallen players writhing on the ground in disbelief? We’ve all found ourselves the conquering hero. Except only a few among us can do it in real-life moments, and Franklin is one of those.

“I believed in myself,” said Franklin, who finished with 19 points and five rebounds. “I always practice the last shot. When it left my hand, I felt it was going in.”

Wrong for most of us to have felt it was going into overtime. Wrong of Tapley not to call a timeout when instead he desperately tried to get the ball to Thames and threw it away with 31 seconds to play. It led to a tying layup by Thomas Bropleh. But then, it wouldn’t have been exciting.

“I didn’t think we had a timeout, so I didn’t try to call a timeout,” Tapley said. “You know about that (Chris Webber) episode. That play never should have happened. Too experienced to make that play.”

True, but it is experience — near-death experiences? — that seems to drive these Aztecs. They are hard to play. There are times when they defend like madmen, as they did in the second half, not so much in the first. When they had chances to put it out of reach, there was a blown dunk and missed free throws and Boise took advantage.

But like I say, that’s how they live, and when things get rough, they have a go-to guy. However unpredictable Franklin may be, the sophomore isn’t standing against the wall at the prom. When the music starts, he dances.

As Fisher put it: “I think he’s unafraid of the moment.”

That’s a big gamble in this town, but Fisher’s right, and not just about Franklin. His team is unafraid. That’s what it is. Unafraid.